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Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Wish Fulfillment - Sour Cream and Coffee Chocolate Bundt Cake

I cannot word this in a way which doesn’t sound like an
irritating humble-brag, so please forgive my next sentence: My boyfriend bought
me the cake pan of my dreams for my birthday. For the past five or more years,
I have adored a certain cake pan the same way one might adore a fancy car, or
any other fancy covetable belonging. Heavy, shiny, technically functional and
of course, expensive for what it is, now that I think about it, it actually
might compare to that 6th Gen. Camaro that said boyfriend desires.

Of course, then, the maiden cake of this pan must be
similarly worthy. Surveying the household opinion, the shouted conclusion was
chocolate cake. Ah, but which one…? A quick search yielded approximately
695,000 results (thanks, Google!), none of which seemed to be exactly right. In
the end, there was a spreadsheet of similar recipes, all scaled to 1 cup of
butter, and an alarming number of identical recipes. The closest, actually,
happened to be the King Arthur Flour recipe for Chocolate Fudge Bundt Cake, were
it not for the fact that I totally disregarded the instructions altogether. But
enough about the dang pan and process, Jesus, girl, how was the cake?!

Well, then, I wouldn’t be writing this if the cake did not
blow my mind, now would I? With a dual-layer texture that changes my
preconceived notions on bundt cake, it’s been sliced and slivered away piece by
piece. The crust tastes almost toasted, the best chewy brownie corners fading
to velvet crumb three-quarters of an inch in. The flavor is dark and seductive, just
sweet enough with hidden slivers of chocolate and bolstered with a full cup of
freshly brewed coffee. This cake is best served 24 hours from the oven, having
allowed its “crust” and “crumb” to settle together and flavors to smooth out.

Sour Cream Chocolate Bundt Cake

Adapted from King Arthur Flour and Every Other Cake Recipe available on the Internet

Put the cocoa powder in a 2-cup liquid measuring
cup or larger, and add the hot coffee, stirring all the while with a fork or a
whisk. The result will be quite thick, as though you’ve made a very nice hot
chocolate. Allow to cool while you complete the next steps.

Cream together the butter and both sugars. I
prefer a stand mixer, but this is definitely possible with a hand mixer or a
spoon, patience, and elbow grease.

Add the eggs, one at a time, making sure to
scrape the bowl between beating each one in. The batter will get much more
creamy and smooth, starting to resemble excellent buttercream frosting.

Add the vanilla and sour cream, and beat them in
as well.

Add the salt, baking powder and baking soda to
the batter, mixing thoroughly.

By now, the cocoa powder and coffee should be
cool enough that the butter doesn’t immediately collapse when you add it. Carefully, because it may splatter, mix
the chocolate into the batter.

With a spatula, fold the flour into the batter,
making sure to scrape the bowl. Flour and butter like to hide in the bottom of
the bowl, particularly since there is a lot of batter in this one! Set the
batter aside.

Finely chop the chocolate and fold it into the
batter. I liked dark chocolate for this one, but if you prefer your cake
sweeter, perhaps milk is more to your taste.

Thoroughly butter your bundt pan or 2 loaf pans,
making sure that butter gets into every sharp corner. Take a handful of cocoa
powder and sprinkle the inside, dusting it as you would flour. This preserves
the nice brown color of the cake, and I like to think it adds an extra touch of
pure chocolate flavor. If there is some left after coating the pan, pick up the pan and lightly tap it so the
extra cocoa powder falls into the cake batter.

Preheat
the oven to 350F.

The
batter is thick; pour/spoon the batter into the bundt pan. You may
need to turn the pan and spread it evenly, since the batter doesn’t flow well.
Tap the pan onto the counter, a sturdy table or your knee to even
out the batter.

Pop
it into the oven and bake for between 50-65 minutes (mine took 60 minutes for a
wooden toothpick to come out clean).

When
the cake tests done, cool it on a rack for about 30 minutes. Then, turn it onto
the rack and gently unmold the cake. Allow to rest for 24 hours, if possible.